13 fun facts about Rafael Leao

The name given to him by his parents in Portuguese means 'lionheart', a name Leao has lived up to throughout his career. While the winger mostly sports a laid-back attitude which may make people feel he doesn't put too much effort or care into his life, he has had to push through many hurdles to reach where he is today.

From a tough childhood in Almada to taking a full season to get adapted to Serie A football, Leao has shown he has the heart of a lion to overcome the ordeals life throws at him and become one of the most talented players in football today.

Leao joined Sporting CP's academy at the young age of nine after a small spell at another Portuguese club called Amora. After making his way through the different levels of the club's academy, the winger was given his senior debut by famed manager Jorge Jesus 10 years after he had first joined the institution in a game against Feirense, replacing Bryan Ruiz.

In another world, Leao would've grown through the ranks of Sporting CP's rival Benfica's academy and probably played a bit longer in the Portuguese league before moving for a heavy sum like most Benfica talents do. However, despite signing as a young kid for the club, he and his family finally decided against the move at the last moment.

Leao stated that the travel to and fro from his house to Benfica's training ground was too far, and his family couldn't afford it. Therefore joining Sporting CP made more sense, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Leao may have moved on from Sporting CP fairly quickly after his debut due to his high potential and talent. However, the May 2018 attack by supporters of the club on its training ground, where many players and staff were hurt, changed the forward's mind and hastened the process.

In June of the same year, Leao chose to terminate his contract with the club where he started his football career, choosing to join Ligue 1 side Lille for free on a five-year deal.

Sporting CP did not take too kindly to the current AC Milan winger terminating his contract and joining Lille without them receiving any compensation. The Portuguese club challenged Leao's transfer to the Ligue 1 club to FIFA immediately, and at one point, the forward considered terminating his contract with the French club even before playing a minute of football for them.

On March 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport passed a judgement stating that Leao would have to pay Sporting CP €16m for the losses they incurred due to his contract termination and transfer to Lille afterwards.

The AC Milan ace holds the honour of having scored the fastest-ever goal in the history of the top five European leagues, let alone in the long legacy of Italian football. In a Serie A game against Sassuolo on 20 December 2020, Leao took merely 6.2 seconds from kickoff to give his side the lead away from home by slotting a cooly-taken finish into the back of the net. It is a record that may be tied to the Portuguese forward's name for a long time.

After scoring his first-ever goal for AC Milan, the Portuguese forward celebrated by mimicking a phone call. When asked about his celebration, Leao stated that its roots go all the way back to his academy days at Sporting CP. The pretend phone call was for his father whenever he couldn't attend a game, to tell him that he had scored another goal for him. In 2022 after helping Milan win their first league title in 11 years, the forward celebrated with his father on the pitch with both in tears.

When Leao entered the limelight for Lille in his debut season in Ligue 1, both fans and experts began to compare him with contemporary and PSG ace Kylian Mbappe. Both forwards share similar traits such as explosive bursts of speed that leave the opposition behind, silky dribbling that helps beat their defender, and being clinical in front of goal. While the Portuguese winger hasn't reached the heights Mbappe has, he isn't far off from going toe-to-toe with him.

When he isn't raising hell for the opposition defenders during a game or training to become a better athlete, Leao is often creating music. It may come as a surprise to many, but the Portuguese winger is deeply invested in producing songs. Under the stage name WAY 45, he has already made 12 songs, even releasing a seven-track-EP in 2021. Even though his first love is football, there's a strong chance he will transition fully into becoming a musician once he retires.

While Leao credits his father and uncle's musical talent for inspiring him to be a musician himself, the winger also contributes it to the various American hip-hop artists he grew up listening to. In an interview, the AC Milan forward stated that he listened to the likes of 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West during his childhood and teenage years.

Leao was in the final list of 30 players who could be voted for the 2022 Ballon d'Or award. As a result of his excellent performances for AC Milan, which helped them win the league title that year, and saw him awarded the title of Serie A MVP of the season, he was voted as the 14th best player in the Ballon d'Or polls. He was the highest-ranked Portuguese that year, even above his idol and footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

After scoring against Udinese in a 1-1 stalemate on 27 February 2022 Leao became the second-ever AC Milan player to have scored a goal for them in every day of the week. The Portuguese forward has the distinct honour of sharing this record with Milan's second-highest goalscorer and legend Andriy Shevchenko, something that would give him much pride.

The Italian league has seen some of the greatest Portuguese players, such as Ronaldo, Rui Costa, Luis Figo, over its long and rich history. However, it's Leao who currently holds the title of the youngest player from the nation to score in double digits in a single season. He did so by scoring the winner against Fiorentina on 2 May 2022 and guiding AC Milan closer to the title.